Ukrainian Parliament appoints new Cabinet of Ministers
Photo: Parliament votes in favor of Yulia Svyrydenko's Cabinet (kmu.gov.ua)
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the updated composition of the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. As a result of the vote, a number of ministries received new leaders.
For more details on who is in the new government, see the report by RBC-Ukraine.
Cabinet reshuffle: How Rada voted
On July 17, parliament appointed a new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The decision was supported by 253 MPs.
The vote took place in a package format. This is a procedure that allows personnel decisions to be made immediately, without a separate vote for each candidate for minister. The exceptions are the positions of prime minister, head of the Ministry of Defense, and head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—their candidates are nominated by the President, and MPs vote on them separately.
New government ministers
The Verkhovna Rada approved the following composition of the Cabinet of Ministers by vote:
Mykhailo Fedorov – First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Digital Transformation;
Oleksii Sobolev – Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture. He was previously the First Deputy Minister of Economy.
Svitlana Hrynchuk – Minister of Energy. Before her appointment, she headed the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Denys Uliutin – Minister of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine. Previously, he served as First Deputy Minister of Finance.
Herman Halushchenko – Minister of Justice. Previously, he headed the Ministry of Energy.
Taras Kachka – Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Economy – Trade Representative of Ukraine.
At the same time, some ministers retained their positions:
Oleksii Kuleba – Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Infrastructure and Territorial Development.
Ihor Klymenko – Minister of Internal Affairs.
Viktor Liashko – Minister of Health.
Serhii Marchenko – Minister of Finance.
Natalia Kalmykova – Minister for Veterans Affairs.
Matvii Bidnyi – Minister of Youth and Sports.
Oksen Lisovyi – Minister of Education and Science.
In addition, several ministries were reorganized as a result of the government reshuffle. The Ministry of Defense was merged with the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
The Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy were merged into a single agency.
The Ministry of Social Policy has been given expanded functions, with the powers of the Ministry of National Unity being transferred to it.
The position of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Government Secretariat.
The ministers of foreign affairs and defense have not yet been appointed. Nominations for these positions are submitted separately by the President of Ukraine and are therefore voted on separately. Andrii Sybiha and Denys Shmyhal are being considered for these positions, respectively.
As of 3:30 p.m. Kyiv time, voting on their appointment is ongoing in the Verkhovna Rada.
Changes in Ukrainian government
On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and his government.
The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the need to renew the executive branch and proposed that Yulia Svyrydenko, who had served as first deputy prime minister and minister of economy since 2021, head the Cabinet. At the same time, the president proposed Denys Shmyhal for the position of defense minister.
You can read more about the reshuffle in the Cabinet of Ministers in a report by RBC-Ukraine.
